


Daddy Pearl

by ThatScottishShipper



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Belly Kink, Courtship, Death Mention of a Past Mate and Their Child, Don’t repost to another site, Egg Laying, Eggs, Hank Anderson Swears, Impregnation, Labour, Love, M/M, Mates, MerMay, MerMay 2020, Mpreg, Oviposition, Pregnancy, Protective Connor, Protective Parent Hank Anderson, Seahorses, Sex, Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:34:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27063487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/pseuds/ThatScottishShipper
Summary: Contractions starting, the heavily expecting seahorse Hank awaits the return of his mate Connor, hoping he’ll arrive in time for their young being born.Originally written in early 2020 for Deep: A Hankcon Mermay Anthology zine.
Relationships: Hank Anderson/Connor
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	Daddy Pearl

The heavily expectant Seahorse groaned.

In the safety of the emerald reefs, eagerly awaiting his mate’s return, Hank had tried to catch up on much needed sleep, denied by the storm of seahorse spawn brewing inside him.

Blowing out a harsh sigh of bubbles, Hank flopped, unable to hold himself on the streams of green dancing in the water. He rested on his back, trying to ease the weight nearly blocking his view.

Too heavy to effectively catch any nearby prey, Hank relied entirely on Connor to bring back sustenance. After all, seahorses had to keep eating, and he was hardly the most nimble of the two these days.

However, Connor was still nowhere in sight.

Irritated, Hank turned onto his side, his swelled stomach rolling with the movement. Pressing a hand against his belly, the grumpy father’s attempt to will the little ones to slumber did little, only letting him feel the bubbled pressure beneath his palm.

They were eggs that had grown big inside him, soon to hatch, and escape his pouch in a series of tight contractions.

_ ‘Great. No rest for me tonight.’ _

Still, there was something about the experience that filled Hank’s heart with optimism. He never expected a bright future like this with Connor, who came into his life like an angelfish descending from the sunshine streamed surface bringing to him light, hope…

_ ‘And babies. Lots and lots of babies.’ _

He clutched his big whitened stomach, knowing the due date wasn’t too far off.

Though Hank might have been past his days of producing thousands of little darlings, it didn’t make the labour any less strenuous. He bent over, his round belly hanging and he grunted  _ hard _ .

Then it happened.

Inside him, a wave of popping like burst bubbles, and intensified movement. Their babies had broken free from their eggs, and were dying to get out, followed by a violent throb inside Hank.

_ Shit _ . He almost forgot how difficult this was, especially with all these little…  _ angelfish _ swirling inside him. And those terrible contractions, his body’s way of saying  _ I-want-them-out-of-me-right-now. _

Another contraction seized through him, and he whimpered, clutching the overhang of his stomach, wishing he could somehow ease the pain inside him. It didn’t work, and if anything, the palm against his skin only stirred the flutter of life inside of him.

Hank managed a weak smile.  _ ‘Hey… Dad’s here. About to literally bust a gut. Think you could hurry it up a little?’ _

He received a swirl of excitement for his trouble.

The salt water stinged his crystal blue eyes -  _ ‘yeah, of course, that had to be it’ _ \- and he tried to ignore the pang of loneliness inside his heart.  _ Dammit _ . He really missed Connor when he was gone.

It was the only time he actually felt alone and vulnerable, without his support and his love.

The drum tightened, his heartbeat pounding with every contraction bringing him closer. As Hank lamented at the thought of giving birth without his mate, a wondrous voice found him.

“Hank…”

The pregnant Seahorse’s heart lifted, his breath catching inside his throat.

Connor’s arms secured around him, sympathetic to his mate’s plight, and Hank surrendered to him. They had been through the motions so many times, and Connor felt for Hank experiencing childbirth over and over again.

But there was also something beautiful about their love creating life, their little ones freed to the world, and the connection bringing them together.

“Come on, Hank,” Connor whispered into his ear, massaging his mate’s quivering stomach near the opening. “You’ve got this.”

“ _ Hah _ , that’s easy for you to-”

A strangled whine left Hank, his tail curling around Connor’s for support. He listened to his lover’s advice carefully, to  _ breathe in and out slowly. _

Breathing in and out, in and out.

With one uncontrollable spasm, Hank cried out, releasing a cloud of newborn seahorses into the ocean. Desperately, his hand found the cup of Connor’s cheek, the other instinctively holding onto himself, trying to ease the pressure somehow.

Touched by the sight of their own children drifting in the ocean, so tiny and fragile, Connor smiled, rubbing Hank’s stomach in encouragement. “That’s it. Keep going, my Pearl.”

Overwhelmed by that beautiful pet name, Hank sobbed, reclining into Connor’s slim body. Around his finger was a ring crafted by their Seakin, a pink pearl shimmering in the light.

_ ‘A rare treasure,’  _ Connor told him, showing his own matching ring,  _ ‘for a Pearl worth all the love in the ocean and beyond.’ _

Their hands clasped together, two pearls symbolising their unity, their love, and their trust.

Hank continued to thrust forward, giving birth to waves upon waves of tiny seahorses. The larger Seahorse cried softly, overwhelmed by the flood of emotions and the physical toll inflicted upon him.

Once the final Fry left him, Hank fell backwards into Connor’s expecting arms, panting harshly. Though he felt empty, he did not feel hollow, filled instead with  _ love _ .  
  


_ Love _ for all their little children drifting around them, swimming excitedly in the fresh new world.

_ Love _ for his mate, loving him unconditionally, and never giving up on when he wanted to give up on himself.

And  _ love _ for himself, for the first time in what felt like forever.

As Connor languished tender kisses upon his tired mate’s face, expressing how proud he was of his  _ beautiful Pearl _ , Hank realised how lucky he was. That Connor wanted to spend the rest of his life with him.

After resigning himself to a future alone, grieving over the loss of his last love and their last surviving Fry together, along came the most handsome Seahorse on this side of the waters? Nah, the whole freaking ocean?

The sparkling sea stars above clearly shone in Hank’s favour.

He still remembered the first time he saw Connor swaying towards him in the darkest waters, those boney plates and fins glowing blue and white in the Midnight zone.

Intoxicated by the stranger’s courtship dance among the reeds, Hank never anticipated that the cute little Seahorse was drawn to his thick, scarred appearance and that broken heart.

But Connor never shied his big brown eyes away from Hank, attracted to the older potential mate.

He never left him, forever by his Pearl’s side.

Lazily, Hank nuzzled against Connor’s cheek, watching their little children slow down, fatigued from their experience. He knew that in the morning, the white seahorses would swim off into the sunlight zone, fending for themselves.

It always broke Hank’s heart to see them go, even if they remained on the closest layer to the surface. The waters were still a dangerous place for seahorses, with the larger offspring gaining the survival advantage.

Once they grew big enough to survive on their own and evade predators and humans alike, those same seahorses returned to their parents.

But still, danger lurked, ready to strike. Hank knew that all too well.

Eventually, Hank recovered, gazing over at Connor, who beheld such a wanton expression. And he knew immediately what his mate had in mind.

“Let me guess,” Hank crooned, resting against the sandy floor. “Ready to go again?”

Connor wiggled his tail suggestively, basking in his fertility. “With you, I always am, Hank.”

It began, as it always did with a tender nose-to-nose caress, allowing them to delve into the soft love in each other’s eyes. Once their tails united around a strong clump of grass, they began to move, spiralling around each other.

It was as if they were courting again for the first time.

Suddenly, from the tip of Connor’s tail to the crystal like plate against his temple, a mesmerising sapphire blue rippled along his body. As always, Hank was blown away by how special his mate was, like a riptide coursing through him.

In kind, as they twirled in the oceans, Hank’s brown tail, scarred from years of hurt and betrayal, began an earthly glow. The sight of Connor’s smile at him lifted his spirit, he felt a little less disgusting, and drifted closer.

They swirled, heads tucked down, their illuminated tails finally finding each other.

Every morning, they indulged in this romantic dance together, reinforcing their bond. But after the magical experience of giving life together, Connor appreciated showing Hank just how much he cherished him for who he was, for keeping their young safe.

Swiftly, Hank drew water through his now empty pouch, which briefly expanded before returning to normal. Connor’s face flushed, understanding his intent well, especially from the hungry look his mate shot his way.

_ ‘I’m empty, Con,’  _ Hank’s look told him.  _ ‘Fill me up.’ _

_ ‘With pleasure,’  _ Connor projected back, keeping their tail grip tightened when they rose through the water.

Lost in a spiralling dance, holding their bodies close, Connor’s lips found Hank, an ethereal kiss. Every natural instinct inside the older Seahorse yearned for his younger mate to fill him, to breed him.

When he felt Connor’s lower half pressed needily against his, Hank smirked into the kiss. They had perfected this dance over many moons, and it took little time for Connor to angle just right…

Finally, Connor sighed as his ovipositor, a long protrusion from his body, entered the opening on his lover’s pouch. Hank groaned, falling into that perfect feeling of being filled by his soul mate, knowing there was more to come.

In an instant, his accepting body took hundreds of tiny eggs.

Hank shivered, endeared to the tiny life already growing inside of him. Thrusting against the older Seahorse, Connor continued to deposit streams of eggs inside him, knowing their offspring would be well protected inside that belly he so adored.

Keeping them warm and full of nourishment.

Once Hank was once more swollen with precious life, Connor carefully withdrew, but he stayed close. Often, a seahorse wandered off, leaving their expectant lovers to slowly settle and accustomed to their changed body.

But Connor never could, at least not until the morning. He watched the colourful glow upon his mate fade, protective hands smoothing the swell of Hank’s stomach. His strong, beautiful Hank, who had endured so much.

Securing his tail around the green reefs and his arms around his newly impregnated mate, Connor basked in the perfect moment. “I love you, my Pearl…”

A weak smile tugged at Hank’s lips, his heavy eyes glancing at his borne seahorses fluttering towards the sunlight one last time before falling against Connor, their entwined hands stroking his belly tight with new eggs.

“Sap,” Hank snorted, then his face softened sleepily. “...I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Deep: A Hankcon Mermay Anthology zine, my very first contribution to a zine. It was a very fun and friendly experience, and I made lots of good friends. ☺️
> 
> I originally started writing this in early 2020, and it was published in the zine.
> 
> Zine information and purchase link can be found [here.](https://twitter.com/hankconmerms/status/1265340436660531201?s=21)
> 
> I immediately wanted to do a pregnancy/egg laying story, and seahorses are one of my favourite sea creatures. I loved researching more about seahorse reproduction and mating for this story.
> 
> I’m also a super sucker for BIG HANK, so big daddy Hank had to be a thing. Expecting Hank with protective, loving Connor with him. 💙
> 
> I chose pink pearls for them symbolising love, fertility, positive feelings and for healing wounded hearts.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
